Be afraid, be very afraid. This could be due to snow-pack, but with the increasing volcanic activity, world-wide, I would be very, very concerned about this one. Why? Well, first, it’s local, second, there is a direct coloration to volcanic activity and cold weather, snow, and the record flooding in the UK.

“…Seismicity continues at Mammoth Mountain volcano (CA) (staion MMP). Whereas yesterday’s activity was characterized by higher magnitude events between M1.0 and M2.3 and a few short pulses of spasmodic tremor, today’s activity appears to be the opposite with numerous smaller magnitude events and more frequent periods of tremor. I have included the most recent plots of deformation occurring in-tandem with the seismicity. Both the tilt and dilatometer data show another episode of movement occurring on or around 10 February. I have to be careful in attributing all the movement to volcanic processes as the region is also receiving heavy snow at this time! The instruments were installed deep underground to prevent surface activity such as snowfall affecting readings,..but it still can!…”

UK Guardian

This should say it all. It may also explain why David Cameron could be in very serious political trouble. His libertarian, cost saving policies, extreme ‘green’ intentions, and an epic amount of rain are creating one of the greatest disasters in modern British history. The rain is one thing, but the fact that, to either save a pound or appease the environmental extremists, the country is besieged by flood waters.

“…Parish clerk Graham Leaver said: “They were very natural. To be honest, they could have walked in among people here and nobody would have recognised them looking at the way they were dressed. “They came into our parish office and it took most of us a few minutes to realise they were there. They were particularly interested in talking to the troops.” Datchet has been the scene of some of the worst flooding in the UK in recent weeks. The Household Cavalry, of which Prince Harry is still a serving officer, has been deployed to the area….”

MSN

“….The battle to save Moorland has been extraordinary. A week ago a few homes were underwater and most householders were confident they would be able to fight back the flood and stay put. There were valiant sandbagging efforts from Environment Agency, residents and scores of volunteers. The marines also arrived and grabbed headlines. But the waters kept rising and almost the whole village is now empty. “It’s a ghost town,” said Mr Kirby….”

UK Guardian

“...If the weather has turned intemperate, so has the argument about who is to blame. Somerset MP Ian Liddell Grainger labelled the bosses of the Environment Agency, which delivers the nation’s flood defences, “bush hookers” and its chairman a “git”. Sniping between cabinet ministers descended into accusations of “grandstanding” and being “stupid“. Cameron stamped out the blame game just as the flood crisis reached the nation’s most famous river, the Thames, whose floodplain snakes through the prosperous south-east, a Conservative heartland.

“I think they understand now how serious it is,” said Prof Colin Thorne, a flood expert at the University of Nottingham. “I mean holy smoke – it’s right next to Eton College!” he said, referring to the prime ministers exclusive school.

The Environment Agency – whose budget has been slashed and is losing 25% of its staff, including frontline personnel – has been scapegoated. Its job is to help protect the UK from flooding. But John Curtin, the EA’s head of incident management, has been too busy responding to the emergency to be deflected from his task. “It’s been wave after wave since mid-December. We have been working 24/7 for nine weeks now. It has been intense and I don’t think this is over: there will be a sting in the tail with more storms to come.””…”

BBC

The above is what happens, when a libertarian based government does this:

“…The coalition governmentcut flood spending as an austerity measure; it scrapped a cabinet flooding committee; and Environment Secretary Owen Paterson removed flood protection from his department’s key priorities. However, spending this year has risen and is set to rise further in 2014-15….”

Typical, for those who have placed their faith in the religion of global warming – not climate change – the mantra is the same. You may as well make people move from their homes, and just let the sea claim land that the sea has not claimed, in thousands of years. Logic, pure simple logic, suggests that the sea isn’t going to catastrophically rise, and that people are going to go back to living where they have always lived. But – try getting a global warming devotee to comprehend history and statistics.

BBC

Yep, austerity sucks, then volcanoes erupt, the atmosphere gets really nasty, the wind gets bad, and you get record flooding. The problem, with the libertarian mind-set, determined to inflict austerity on an unwilling populace, is THIS is what happens.

UK Guardian

If you know anything about the climate of the British Isles, then you know that the weather is historically cyclical. It is also very much effected by volcanic activity. Strangely enough, the past six months or so have been quite active – volcanically. In fact, a little known fact is that 2013 has been the most active year, volcanically, in modern history. Not only does that explain the miserable winter we’ve had int he US, but the record flooding in the UK.

Extinction Protocol

“…The Pitt report recommended above-inflation spending on flood defences. The Labour government then increased capital spending by three-quarters. The coalition cut it heavily, then reinstated part of the sum.

But a note in the House of Commons library (SN/SC/5755) makes it plain that total capital spending, even when unconfirmed contributions from local authorities are included, will still be lower in real terms in 2011-15 than in the previous four years.

Historically, there seems to be a cycle of increased spending after a flooding event but it tends to taper off as the flood waters recede.

In 1999-2000 total expenditure on all flood defences in England and Wales was estimated by the Environment Agency to be about £400m. After the autumn floods of 2000, spending by the Labour government did go up but the increase was less than some advisers recommended. According to a report by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology in 2001, consultants then for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) estimated that the funding would need to increase by £30m to £60m per year to maintain current levels of protection in the face of a changing climate.

Before the floods in 2007, funding had increased to £500m, but was still below the recommended level. In the wake of 2007, there was another surge of spending that brought cash allocated up to a high point of £670m in 2010-11. It has since dipped back below £600m. As well as the amounts, questions have been raised about how the money is now spent. MPs warn that the flood defence maintenance budget is shrinking as the number of defences increases….”

And, if you read between the lines, the ‘climate change’ here is caused by volcanic activity. If so, just follow the headlines of the past month -it’s only going to get worse.

Live Science

The UK is experiencing what is literally a perfect storm. Thanks to austerity and libertarian principles, much needed money was cut from flood protection. Thanks to the extreme green movement, the rivers and canals were not properly dredged and maintained. Thanks to a world-wide increase in volcanic activity the UK is experiencing the worst weather in a good 250 years.

It is a cautionary tale, that, unfortunately, is going to be repeated in this country, with disastrous results. Thanks to ill conceived, almost bust-headed libertarian policies of austerity, and the absolutely idiotic desire to turn infrastructure over to the private sector, and not fund it, we are going to be experiencing the same thing. In the UK, it appears that David Cameron has truly mismanaged the situation, making the mistakes of Katrina look like a minor computer glitch. How badly damaged his career is, only time will tell. What is rather fascinating is that Harry and William have managed to make him look like a total incompetent slacker. Like the Jersey Shore, this is not going to end well, for the PM.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SJ Reidhead (aka The Pink Flamingo) is a writer based in New Mexico. The author of two published novels, both westerns: Dust Devil and The Second Mrs. Earp and two published works of non-fictions: TRAVESTY: Frank Waters Earp Agenda Exposed and A Church for Helldorado, Endicott Peabody's 1882 Tombstone Diary. One of the leading authorities on the life of Wyatt Earp and Tombstone during the Earp years, she is writing a series of murder mysteries set in modern day Tombstone. The author is also working on a book about fashion in the Wild West. When complete, there will be over 2100 unpublished antique photographs dating from 1855-1910.

The author's work has appeared in Wild West, True West, Blogcritics, and The Tombstone Times. Recently the author has had to deal with a father who succumbed to Alzheimer's Disease. This is leading to a book dealing with the frustrations of dealing with the frustrations of the disease, finance, legal, health-care, and things no one bothers telling families about it. A portion of the book will contain entries from a blog she kept, detailing the struggle with her father's AD. She is also working on a murder mystery series set in modern day Tombstone and Cochise County. Several books of essays on Christian living are currently in edits. A book of essays and revisions of articles about Wyatt Earp has been completed and will include her latest work detailing her theory about the murder of his second wife, Mattie.

SJ Reidhead has been involved in Republican politics since she was 'a little kid'. During the Reagan years she was a lobbyist working with various non-profit organizations who were attempting to salvage NASA and the American space program after the disastrous Carter years. In spite of ups and downs, and numerous disappointments, politically, it is obvious the only political hope for this country is via the Republican Party. Along with politics she is an opera fanatic, has been known to stalk baritones to the point of being a baritone junkie, and loves baseball.

The Pink Flamingo went on line on October 4, 2005.

THE PINK FLAMINGO STORY

It started out as a joke. During the seven years I worked with the girls of my parish, leading a youth group, one of the things that I stressed were manners. Part of having manners, the way I see it, is to know how to set a proper table, host a party, cater it, and clean up afterward. I was fortunate enough to have a group of very talented girls in my youth group. They learned how to plan for, and execute large church functions, very properly. During one such function I noticed there were several incredibly tacky pink flamingos sitting on the table. Knowing the girls were up to something, I said nothing. A few months later they did the same thing at a function I was hosting at my home. I said nothing. They had a birthday party for me. More pink flamingos appeared - and a joke was born.

Thanks to the girls, all of whom are now grown, I have a collection of pink flamingos. It has become an ongoing joke. When I began working on my political blog, I realized the only possibly title was The Pink Flamingo!